George James

The Port Huron Police Department is going to be getting a new officer. This new recruit will be on four legs, though. The Port Huron City Council approved the acquisition of a new canine officer, or police dog, at Monday’s meeting. Officer Chad Smith has been the officer in charge of the current police dog, but with his promotion to Detective, the department will be needing a new dog.

City Manager James Freed explained to the council that the current dog has a year or two of service left in him, but police canines cannot be transferred from one handler to another. The current dog will “go home” with Officer Smith. 

The new dog will be coming from Shallow Creek Kennels of Pennsylvania, which is a privately owned and operated police service dog importing and training facility that the city has acquired dogs from previously. The $8,000 fee charged by the facility will be covered by the Canine Services Fund which is supported by the Dorothea Knight charitable donation. 

A new dog handler will be selected in the next few weeks. Representatives from the Port Huron police department said that the new dog will not be trained to sniff out marijuana, as it is now legal. Marijuana detection leading to searches has been ruled unconstitutional in other states.

Local school districts should be getting new energy efficient school buses with the awarding of grants from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The big winner in the state was a consortium headed by the Brown City School District.

The nearly $1.9 million grant is for a consortium of eighteen districts including Capac, Croswell-Lexington, and Yale districts, locally. According to a press release from EGLE, “Replacing older, diesel engines with clean diesel or propane delivers savings for school districts and will also improve public health at bus stops, on school grounds, and in communities. Students who have cleaner air to breathe will do better in school and have fewer health concerns.” An EGLE spokesperson says Brown City is the facilitator for the partnership of school districts that will use the grant money to cover some of the costs for new buses in all those districts.

When consortiums of school districts work together, it results in reduced administrative costs, which means more money can go toward the grants and purchasing buses and can increase buying power. Districts are expected to have the cleaner buses on the road by 2022.

Casey Harris, Owner of Casey’s in downtown Port Huron, will lace up his skates and hit the ice with the Port Huron Prowlers hockey team this weekend. Harris is no stranger to the sport. The 6’2” left wing played for the Oxford Raiders, Ferris State, Indianapolis Ice and Port Huron Beacons before retiring in the mid-2000’s.

Player-Assistant Coach Matt Graham said the Prowlers have signed Harris to a celebrity contract for this Sunday’s game against the Carolina Thunderbirds. According to Graham, the Federal Hockey League allows teams to sign one extra player to celebrity contracts for a single game. 

There is a bit of a question as to how the return to the ice came about. Graham says Harris has cited a near death experience and encounter with the Dahli Llama as the push to make a special appearance in the hockey game. One thing is for certain, though, Harris is a big supporter of the Prowlers, according to Graham. Harris is expected to play between five and 10 shifts for the upcoming game. 

In addition to Harris’s appearance on Sunday, the Prowlers have a big weekend ahead as the second place Prowlers team takes on the first place Carolina Thunderbirds. The Prowlers current record stands at 32-14 with 10 regular season games left on the schedule.

Port Huron High School’s Varsity Quiz Bowl team is headed to States. The team has won both the Blue Water Quiz Bowl League regular season and the League tournament after Quiz Bowl season wrapped for local teams last Thursday, but the Port Huron High team still has some work to do as they prepare for the meetup of the best teams in the state at Michigan State University on March 28. Yes, that is during Spring Break, but families have adjusted their schedules to make room for the big event. 

When asked what made this year’s team so special, Coach Kelly Harrington had a lot to say. She said, “What makes this team special is that they truly are a team. They communicate so well with each other on the Bonus questions, and each player brings different knowledge to the table.” Harrington said, “They often get together to practice trivia outside of just school practice.  They have amazing sportsmanship and most of all they like to have fun,” citing they are an amazing group to work with.

 The team is also coached by Richard Schneeberger, and Christine Richmond. The team is made up of nine seniors and two juniors. Quiz Bowl is a trivia and strategy competition for both middle school, junior varsity, and varsity teams that has a 35-year tradition.

Following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Health Department recommendations regarding COVID-19, and citing the safety of event participants, staff, and the community, McLaren Port Huron has canceled the 29th Children’s Fun & Fitness Festival, scheduled for March 21.

The annual, free event was scheduled to give children the opportunity to become familiar with the hospital environment in a way that is fun, active, and geared to them. Late Tuesday night, Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a State of Emergency in Michigan after she announced the first two cases of presumptive positive tests of Coronavirus in Michigan. One case is in Macomb County and another in Wayne County. The CDC’s recently released guidelines advise to evaluate events that gather large groups of people together. The McLaren Port Huron event typically draws hundreds of children and parents to the hospital.

People who have the Coronavirus may experience: runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever and difficulty breathing. Anyone with symptoms is advised to first call the doctor’s office before going in.

Shawn Shackelford, Principal at Central Middle School in Port Huron Schools, has received the Macomb Celebration of Black Excellence’s Educational Impact Award. Mr. Shackelford was bestowed with the honor at the 2nd Annual Celebration of Black Excellence held at Baker College in Clinton Township on February 22. 

When asked what the award meant to him, Mr. Shackelford said he was honored and humbled. He reflected on his childhood in Mount Clemens and credited the “black excellence that (he) saw growing up.” He said that he lived in the neighborhood of the first black doctor and police officer in his community, and that those people along with his aunts, who were the first in his family to go to college and eventually become teachers, defined excellence for him. He credited his parents, who attended the ceremony, for instilling a strong work ethic in him and his brother, which allowed them to serve their country in the U.S. Army. Mr. Shackelford said he is “but a reflection of all those great people.”

Macomb Black Excellence gave out awards in the areas of community involvement, athletics, business, education, visionary leadership, and the arts.